Living in the north is bad for your wealth

Less millionaires live in the north than the south of England (model pic)

The wealth of the top 10% stands in marked contrast to the dire situation many households find themselves in today

Spokesman for debt charity StepChange

Taking the value of homes, pensions and possessions into account, 10% of households are worth seven-figure sums.

The largest number are in the south-east, where 15.5% of households reach the ­magic seven figures.

The fewest are based in Scotland, where just 6.9% hit £1million or more.

The report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the scale of the north-south divide.

In the north-east and north-west of England only 7.6% of households are make the rich list.

In Yorkshire and Humberside the figure is 7.9%, and in Wales it is 8.1%.

The ONS said the richest 10% – about 2.5million families – control 44% of the county’s wealth.

However, the Wealth And Assets Survey found one-in-two British families have almost nothing in terms of possessions.

There are 10% of families with total assets of less than £13,000. On average, the richest 10% of households have pension wealth of £742,000, property wealth of £340,000, household contents worth £68,000 and net financial wealth of £123,200.

But down in the bottom half of the wealth league families have an average pension pot of £4,000 and savings and investments of just £400.

A spokesman for debt charity StepChange said: “The wealth of the top 10% stands in marked contrast to the dire situation many households find themselves in today.”